Everything You Need to Know About Urology Nurses and Associates Week
Urology Nurses and Associates Week is sponsored by the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates (SUNA), celebrated from November 1 through November 7 every year. This is the week for these nurses and associates to raise awareness of their specialty, while facilities, patients and others can honor them.
Nurses in this field, whether working as part-time or full-time staff, or as a travel nurse, are incredibly valuable to their patients and the entire healthcare system. If you’re one of them, this is your special week as you make a significant difference in your patient’s lives, whether you work in surgery, oncology, continence care, at a hospital, outpatient care clinic or a physician’s office.
A Look at the Role of a Urology Nurse
If you’re already a urology nurse, we don’t need to tell you what you do, but this week is the perfect time to inspire someone else to enter this field, as to well to help others understand why your role is so important.
Urology is a specialty that focuses on urinary tract-related conditions, including the urethra, kidney and bladder. Urology nurses care for adults who are having urologic issues that may occur in either men or women, such as prostate surgeries and vasectomies or bladder surgeries. They assist with catheterization due to bladder incontinence and other problems, perform urinary health exams, obtain samples, administer medications and educate patients about what they’re taking and how to maintain and promote urinary health. Urologic nurses frequently deal with kidney or renal stones, solidified substances from crystallized urine that impair the proper kidney functioning and can be extremely painful. These RNs must be highly knowledgeable about the risks and complications of urologic surgery and treatment options as well.
Interested in Urology travel nursing jobs? Start here!
Some of the traits that are essential for urology nurses include being compassionate, having excellent communication skills and the ability to educate patients who are dealing with these issues.
How to Become a Urology Nurse
The job outlook for registered nurses in general is excellent with many more open positions than there are RNs available. Conditions associated with reproductive and urinary health are very common, affecting just about every age group in the general population. With the baby boomer generation aging, these conditions will proliferate even more, meaning there will be an increasing demand for urology nurses, including travel nurse positions.
If you’re interested in pursuing a career as a urology nurse, the first step is to obtain a nursing degree. While there are some licensed practical nurses (LPN) who are working in this field, becoming a registered nurse (RN) by graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing is preferable. After obtaining a nursing degree, you’ll need to pass the NCLEX exam to become licensed as a nurse. Once you have a few years of experience working as an RN, particularly dealing with urinary conditions and/or undergoing specific training in urology at a facility, you can become a urology nurse. Becoming a certified urology nurse provides even more credibility, showing you’ve got what it takes to do the job, by passing tests through national organizations like the Certification Board for Urologic Nurses and Associates.
Honoring the Urology Nurse
If you’re searching for ways to honor urology nurses and what they do, you can purchase celebratory items through SUNA.org as well as download posters and sample articles to write for your facility’s newsletter. Consider bringing in meals for urology nurses who work at your facility, perhaps a breakfast, lunch and dinner for each shift. You may want to invite students from local high schools and nursing schools to visit the facility in which you work so they can learn about urology nursing.
Don’t forget to spread the word on social media too, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. SUNA also asks you to share your photos and celebrations of the week by emailing the organization via email: suna @ ajj dot com.
Learn more about a career as a urology travel nurse